


as one incapable of her own distress

by gaypanic



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Non-Magical, Angst, F/F, Happy Ending, inspired by a scene from one tree hill, no OTH knowledge recquired
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-30
Updated: 2017-08-30
Packaged: 2018-12-21 22:34:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,449
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11954070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gaypanic/pseuds/gaypanic
Summary: Emma chuckles, and the sound stops Regina’s heart. She wants nothing more than to have Emma safe at home next to her again. “It doesn’t look like I’m gonna make it anywhere anytime soon. This rain is… it’s heavy.”“I know, it’s all over the news. They think the levee is going to break, Em. A few trees have come down. You’re safe right? Where are you?”“I’m coming up on the toll bridge.”Regina’s heart stops again, for an entirely different reason. “You’re still driving?”(Or, the one where a lot of things go wrong, but at least one thing goes right.)





	as one incapable of her own distress

**Author's Note:**

  * For [parrillayeah](https://archiveofourown.org/users/parrillayeah/gifts).



> I've never seen any of One Tree Hill with the exception of this scene (from 8x11). I just wrote this for the feels given to me by my angst supplier Nicole. Love you BAB <3

“I’ve gotta get out of here,” Emma mutters as she starts pacing their living room, hands running through her hair. Regina reaches out to her, but she pulls away and starts her paces in a different direction.

“Emma stop, calm down. You’re--”

“ _ Don’t _ tell me I’m overreacting.”

“But--”

“Regina,  _ please _ . I can’t have this conversation right now.”

Regina huffs, “Emma, can you please just hear me out?” She pauses for a moment, waiting for her fiancée’s movements to slow, or even just direct to her, like in many of their fights. Suddenly one would end up in the arms of the other and they would just melt together, holding each other, sometimes crying, sometimes apologizing, sometimes still sending accusations while the other admits to all wrong, letting the fight dissipate.

But it doesn’t happen.

“Regina, you’ve made your point.”

“I didn’t mean it like that--”

“Then how did you mean it? What am I supposed to think when you tell me I’d be better off alone? That because you’ve lost everyone before me, you think I should just drop everything, us,  _ our family _ , just to avoid the potential, not even determined but  _ potential _ , risk that you could lose me. Do you realize what that sounds like?” 

Emma’s pacing has finally stopped, but Regina wishes it was still going on. She’s now standing stiff across the room, exasperated eyes on Regina. She can’t tell if she’s hurt or angry or both, and all she wants is to fix it, to pull Emma into her arms. 

She takes a step forward. Emma takes a step back.

“I’ve gotta get out of here,” Emma says again, her voice breaking ever so slightly.

“Emma, please. Don’t…” She reaches for her again, only to have her pull away once more. “Please don’t leave.”

“I just need space.”

“I’ll give you space. Just please don’t walk out that door.”

Emma scoffs, “Isn’t that what you want?” 

“Of course not.”

“That’s what you said.”

“I--”

“You didn’t mean it like that, yeah, I got that. But it’s what you said. You said ‘ _ You deserve better than what I can give you. You’re better off somewhere else. Maybe you should go _ .’ And you know what, Regina, I think that’s--”

“Fine. You want to leave? Then leave.” Regina turns away from Emma, suddenly angry. Emma’s going to leave anyway. “Everyone else does.” She shouldn’t have said it, but the words came tumbling from her mouth anyway, almost a mumble. 

She doesn’t see her fiancée’s reaction, but the scoff that sounds behind her is enough to create the visual. She imagines Emma’s mouth open in anger, brows creased in hurt, eyes wide with disbelief. Regina wants to take it back, but the damage is already done. “Are you fucking serious, Regina? Have you forgotten everything I’ve been through? Years of foster care? Even more years of abandonment? Do you really,  _ honestly _ believe I would do that to you?”

Regina sucked in a harsh breath, finding it in her to turn back around. “Emma, I…”

This time Emma is the one to turn away. “I thought you knew me better than that.” 

“I do, but…”

“If you really want time, or space, whatever, then fine. You can have it.” Her words cut through Regina’s heart like a blade, and it’s all she can do to keep the tears from falling. Her efforts are in vain as they pool in her eyes, blurring her vision, and she can’t help but blink the weight away.

“Emma.” Her voice breaks as she reaches for her, shrugging into her coat and stepping away in time to avoid Regina’s touch.

Keys in hand, Emma opens the door and speaks one final sentence over her shoulder, Regina can’t see, but she can hear the harsh tears in Emma’s voice. “Don’t expect me to disappear.”

* * *

 

The phone rings three times before Emma answers. Three times too many, but Regina is trying not to be impatient about it. She knows from experience that her impatience will only come off as irritated or inconvenienced, but she’s sincere. Emma will know that.

“Hello?” 

Regina can’t stop the breath that escapes her lips at hearing her fiancée’s voice. “Emma. Where are you?”

“I don’t know, Regina. I just started driving. I wasn’t going anywhere, I just wanted to get away.”

Regina feels a pang in her chest knowing that the only reason Emma drove into this weather was because of her, messing relationships up like she always does. She hadn’t wanted that to happen this time, but it had anyways. “Emma, please, come back home. I don’t like you driving in this weather. I know you’re mad at me, but I’m sorry.” Regina takes a deep breath. “I shouldn’t have yelled at you. Please come back home so we can talk? I’ll let you be the big spoon?”

Emma chuckles, and the sound stops Regina’s heart. She wants nothing more than to have Emma safe at home next to her again. “I’d love that, babe, I really would, but I can’t see anything. It doesn’t look like I’m gonna make it anywhere anytime soon. This rain is… it’s heavy.”

“I know, it’s all over the news. They think the levee is going to break, Em. A few trees have come down. You’re safe right? Where are you?”

“I’m coming up on the toll bridge.”

Regina’s heart stops again, for an entirely different reason. “You’re still driving?”

“Yeah, why?”

And Regina has no time to answer before she hears Emma’s sharp gasp of panic before the line disconnects. “Emma?” But there’s only silence. “Emma, are you still there? Can you hear me?”

Regina tries to reach her again, and the sound of Emma’s voicemail has barely reached her ears when she has her keys in her hand, leaving her coat behind as she runs to her car. Only one thing is important right now, and it sure as hell isn’t her state of dress.

* * *

 

Emma slams on the breaks as soon as she’s on the toll bridge, staring in horror and counting her blessings that she has such quick reflexes or else Nicholas Zimmer would be in worse shape than he already is.

She leaps out of the car, disturbed by the blood trickling down his face but even more disturbed by the car tipped on it’s side on the edge of the bridge. Too close to the edge. “Nick? Hey, buddy, are you okay? What the f-- uh, what happened?” He looks afraid, not like he’s traumatized but like he’s waiting for her to react badly, and she can’t blame him because they always say it gets worse before it gets better, and it sure as hell does get worse.

“Emma?” a voice cries out from behind the boy in front of her. And really she should have known better. Henry, Nick, and several other of Storybrooke’s kids had travelled to the city that day to visit the aquarium with a few chaperones, and if Nick was here on the toll bridge, blood on his face, she didn’t want to imagine what state Henry was in. But she didn’t have to, because she was seeing it. “Ma!”

“Henry!” And she swears she’s never moved so fast in her life as she bypasses Belle and a couple other kids, standing at a loss. Emma gets to Henry, still buckled into the car, trapped by the seat belt.  _ Stupid _ .

He’s definitely her kid because he looks at her, half grinning, and asks, “Aren’t these things supposed to keep me safe?”

She snorts, but it’s forced. “I know what you mean kid, but you’re in much better shape right now than you would have been without it on, trust me. Let’s just hope you stay that way.” She hears a soft cry coming from behind her, reminding her of the presence of the others, standing in the rain, on the road. She turns back to Henry. “Are you gonna be okay here for a minute?” He nods confidently, Regina’s determination clear across his face.

Emma makes her way to Belle, tossing her the keys to her car, “Hey, take the kids in my car and make sure they’re safe. I’ll stay here with Henry. My cell is out of service, so make sure someone knows we’re here and send help, okay?” 

“Okay,” Belle nods. She looks shook, but nevertheless, Emma’s grateful that one of the more level headed adults is in this situation, thinking that anyone else could have made this a whole lot worse.

Returning back to Henry, Emma climbs through the broken in windshield to be as close to him as she can without putting herself in a difficult to reach spot. She turns over her shoulder, watching Belle and the kids drive off. She hates the circumstances of her being out here, the fight with Regina still weighing heavy on her mind, but she’s glad she ended up here. Who knows what would have happened. She pulls out her phone one last time to try it, but the signal is still completely lost.

“Ma?”

“Yeah, kid?”

“Do you think they’re gonna be okay?” And she can’t help but smile at Henry’s selflessness. He’s the one stuck in a car, tipped on it’s side on the edge of a bridge, and he’s worried about everyone driving off to safety and warmth. He snorts in response to the soft chuckle she lets slip. “What’s so funny?”

“I love you.”

“I love you too, but that doesn’t answer either of my questions,” he says with a smirk.

Emma reaches out to ruffle his hair. “You’re just like your mom. An annoying smartass.” 

“Yeah, I know, but you love it. Especially when  _ she’s _ the one being a smartass.”

“Language.”

“Ma! You said it first.”

“Yeah, do me a favor and don’t tell Mom.”

Henry glances behind her before letting out a laugh. “Looks like you can tell her yourself.”

“What?!” Emma squeaks, spinning around at the sound of a car door, and sure enough, there was her fiancée moving towards them down the toll bridge. “Regina?”

“Mom!”

“Henry?” Regina halts when she sees the car, momentarily frozen.  _ Is Emma over there too? Where’s her car? _ “Emma?”

“Regina!” And she’s reassured that Emma doesn’t sound panicked. She squints just enough to see her smiling, and Regina breathes out a sigh of relief, thinking that maybe everything will be fine. Their fight was just a fight, and whatever is happening here must be getting resolved. Her fiancée and their son are safe.

But then she sees it.

Another car coming up on the bridge, swerving, and it’s clear that the driver doesn’t have a good grip on what’s happening nor control over the car. Regina gasps, screaming at it to stop, but it doesn’t. Something sparks in the road, and the driver swerves hard straight into the overturned car containing Emma and Henry.

Regina is left on the road watching in horror as the car tips off the bridge, crashing into the water. She doesn’t hesitate before running to the edge of the bridge, and following the car into the river.

* * *

The car is submerged, filling with water, but Regina can feel the bottom of the river and is only standing waist deep, so she knows the car won’t sink. The circumstances of the smashed in windows aren’t good by any means, but they do allow her entry into the car, and right now, that’s all she cares about.

She slides through the space where the windshield should be along with rushing water, as the car starts to fill. Henry is squirming in the back seat, trying to free himself, while Emma is staring at the water surrounding them at a loss for what to do. As soon as she sees Regina, her entire demeanor shifts. “Regina, oh my god.” She reaches for her hand, and Regina takes it, hoping the contact can calm the both of them.

“Are you guys okay? Are you hurt?” 

Emma mutters that they aren’t injured, but Henry’s stuck, while Henry screams over her. “We’re sinking! Mom, help we’re gonna sink!”

“Henry, Henry, stop. I’m going to need you to stay calm, okay, sweetie? We’re not going to sink, I promise. The car is touching the ground.”

“It is?”

Regina looks to Emma, eyes full of trust. She hopes hers look the same. “It is. The water won’t fill the car up too much more.” Emma nods, looking to Henry who tries for a smile, but only grimaces. Regina reaches for his hand with her free one. “You’re okay, Henry. I’ve got you.”

“I trust you, Mom.”

Regina looks to her fiancée next, “Emma, do you think you can help me get Henry unstuck?” But Emma’s eyes are wide, panicked. She’s not looking at Regina, and she’s not sure she even heard her at all. “Emma?”

Finally, her green eyes meet Regina’s. “I’m stuck too.” And the water is still rushing around them, but Regina swears the car becomes so still and so silent for a few beats before she can regain her composure,.

“Okay. Okay, it’s going to be fine,” she says, more to herself than to anyone else. She needs to be strong for her family, like she knows Emma would be if the tables were turned. She tries to imagine “what would Emma do” as she uses her fiancée as inspiration.

“Regina?” She looks into Emma’s eyes, surprised to see how calm they suddenly are. She feels her own panic ease when Emma manages a gentle smile. “I’ll be okay. Help Henry first, okay, babe?” And this is something Regina isn’t surprised about. Emma is the most selfless person, and it hurts Regina to remember their fight from earlier, considering her words the way Emma would have heard them. She strokes Emma’s hand once with her thumb before pulling away to give Henry her full attention. 

Emma squeezes her hand once before she lets go.

She reaches into the back where Henry’s terrified gaze is waiting for her.  She rests her hand to his face as she asks him, “Henry, are you okay?” She has to shout to be heard over the water rushing around them, but she hopes her voice can still soothe him. 

“I’m fine, Mom, just stuck. You’re sure we’re not sinking, right?”

“I’m sure. I could stand up before I climbed into the car.” Henry nods, glancing over her shoulder. “Is Ma okay?”

Regina can’t help but smile. Their son is so sweet, selfless like his mother, loving her just as much as Regina does. “She’s okay. She’s stuck too, but I’m going to help you first, okay?”

She leans over to wrestle with the seatbelt, telling Henry to stay still. When nothing happens, she groans. “Henry, I’m going to check on Emma. Maybe if we can get her unstuck, she can help you out, or one of us will be able to go for help.”

“I’m scared, Mom.”

She gives him a soft smile, trying to erase the panic from her eyes, stifling it into her chest where her heart is already erratically beating. “Henry, everything is going to be fine, I promise. We’ll make it out of here. We’ll go home and curl up on the couch and watch a movie together, drink hot chocolate.”

“With cinnamon?”

Emma’s giggle warms Regina’s heart even more than the thought that they’ll soon be safe at home together. “Yes, dear. With cinnamon.” Turning back to Emma, she asks her “Any luck?” Emma’s struggles to free herself are answer enough, and she can tell the blonde is only getting more frustrated. Regina reaches for her hand again, and Emma takes it, looking at her fiancée.

“Regina?”

“I’m here, baby. It’s going to be alright.”

Emma opens her mouth, blinking and turning away before speaking. “Regina, I’m so sorry. I was such an ass earlier, and I shouldn’t have left like that, I just… I wanted--”

“Shh, you don’t have to explain. I wasn’t being fair to you. We can talk about it later, but right now, all I want is to get you and Henry out of here safely. Bear with me, okay? I’m going down to see if I can figure out how to free your leg alright?” 

Emma smirks at her, “You’re going down on me? I thought you didn’t like to do it in the car,” she whispers in a low voice. 

“Maybe I changed my mind,” Regina answers with a smirk of her own before going underwater to try and see what’s holding Emma to the car, grateful she has a flashlight on her. When she comes up she sees Emma comforting Henry, reaching back for his hand.

“You okay, kid? Your mom is the best; we’re so lucky to have her. I promise you she’s gonna get us out of here.” When Emma turns and locks eyes with Regina, she opens her mouth again, but Regina cuts her off.

“Emma, it’s okay.”

“But, I--”

“I know you want to apologize, but please don’t worry about it. _ It’s okay _ .” Emma smiles at her, biting her lip, and Regina just wants to hold her, kiss her, make her feel better. But first she has to get her out of this car. “We’re gonna need a crowbar or something. Your leg is stuck under the steering column.

Emma rolls her eyes, “I had a crowbar in my car. Go figure this would happen.”

“Emma…” 

“What?”

“Remember when you got upset with me after my car broke down on the side of the road? You didn’t like that I didn’t have ‘all the necessary tools…’” Regina says, waiting for Emma to catch on. 

Finally her eyes widen. “I put a crowbar in your car!”

“You put a crowbar in my car,” Regina repeats, grinning widely. “Henry, let’s get you unstuck so you can help me get that crowbar and save your ma, how’s that sound?” But Henry doesn’t say anything. “Henry?” Regina looks over to see him squinting into the distance.

“What’s that sound?”

And that’s when Regina finally hears it. It sounds like water, rushing hard and fast.  _ No, it can’t be. This can’t be happening _ . She refuses to believe it until she hears Emma mutter, “The levee.”

“What is it?” Henry asks again, his voice starting to rise. “Is it bad? What’s going on?”

And Regina is about to tell him once again that everything is going to be okay, when the water starts pouring into the car harder than before, and she finally yells out to Henry, the answer to his question. “The levee is broken!”

Henry wiggles in his seat, trying to break free. “Are we sinking, Mom?” But she can’t bring herself to answer. 

“I’m gonna get us out of this, Henry, just stay calm!” She looks back to Emma, “Can you move your leg at all? If you can, I might be able to help you get freed.”

Emma shakes her head, mouth agape, “I can move it a little, but I think we need to get Henry out first.”

“Emma--”

“Regina, please, he’s just a kid.  _ Our _ kid. If you can get him out first, you can get him to safety, get the crowbar, and come right back to me. I’ll be okay. I love you, and I trust you.”

Regina hesitates. If she can get Emma out now, she can help her get Henry free, and they can all go up together. She doesn’t like the idea of having to leave Emma here while the car fills up with water, but time is of the essence, and Henry crying out for help seals the deal. The most important thing is staying calm in a crisis, and since that’s exactly what Emma’s doing, she’ll be okay. She gives Emma a firm nod before breaking their eye contact and turning back to Henry.  

Climbing all the way into the back seat, she kisses Henry on the head before positioning herself to pull hard on the seat belt, hoping that it won’t be too difficult to unjam. “Henry, do you think you can help me pull on this? Be strong for me, okay?”

“Okay, Mom.”

The two of them yank on the seat belt desperately while Emma cheers them on from the front, attempting to free her own leg. She beams back at Regina when the belt finally gives in and Henry is freed. Regina ushers him to the window, telling him to start climbing out before she turns back to Emma. “Don’t worry, Emma, I’ll--”

“You’ll find me,” Emma says with a smirk. 

Regina wants to roll her eyes, to laugh, knowing that Emma’s just trying to make light of the situation, but she can’t help but panic as she watches the water rise higher against Emma’s chest. “Stay calm, okay? I’ll be right back.”

She follows Henry out the window and helps him climb back onto the bridge. He’s already running for the crowbar in her car without needing to be asked. “Mom!” He runs back over to her with it, smiling triumphantly.

“Thank you. Stay safe up here. We’ll be right back,” she tells him, kissing him once more on the head before turning to leap back into the water.

When she gets back to the car, she’s horrified to see that Emma is barely able to hold her face above the water. She doesn’t look as calm as she did before, but she certainly looks calmer than Regina feels. “Regina?” She breathes out a laugh. “I’m happy to see you, babe. Now let’s get me out of here, yeah?”

But another wave of water rushes in, catching Regina off guard, and it’s not until she’s regained her balance that she realizes that she’s dropped the crowbar. “Shit.”

“Regina?”

“I dropped it! I dropped the fucking crowbar!” She goes under reaching for it, but comes up empty handed. “This can’t be happening.” She looks to Emma, still stuck and struggling, only inches away from losing air, and she has to choke back a sob. Emma reaches for her hand under the water.

“You got this, baby, I believe in you,” Emma says before Regina drops back under to search again. 

She stays down as long as she can, feeling around, determined not to come back up until she’s found it. Just when she’s about to run out of air, her hand grazes it under the passenger seat and she grabs it without hesitation, pulling back up to the surface. “I got it, Emma!” But when she looks to her fiancée, she’s out of sight, completely submerged. “Emma!”

Diving under the water, she reaches for Emma, cupping her face with her hand and bringing their lips together. Emma kisses her back before pulling away and giving Regina a nod with a small quirk of her lips as they make eye contact under the water. It’s dark but the message is clear. _ I love you _ . 

Regina takes the crowbar to the steering column, using all the strength she has to try and free her fiancée’s leg so they can swim to the surface together, so they can go home with their son, so she can hold her in her arms and kiss her and tell her how wrong she was, how she can’t imagine life without Emma, and she hopes she never has to.

Emma is fighting next to her, struggling to break free, and with their combined efforts, Regina’s panic is lessened, replaced by the hope that Emma gives her. As if she can read her mind, she feels Emma’s hand against her arm as she works the crowbar.  _ Everything is going to be fine. Emma is strong. She’ll make it through this. We’ll make it through this _ . 

She has to pull up for air before returning back down to try again, Emma’s hand has fallen from her arm, and Regina realizes something’s wrong when she no longer feels her struggling next to her. She looks over, eyes taking in her fiancées body as it sits, still and motionless, face expressionless, and Regina lets out a sob into the water, as she fights even harder to free Emma’s leg. 

It takes two more trips up for air until Regina finally manages to pull her from the car.

* * *

Emma is heavier in her arms when they step out of the water, heavier than she’s prepared for, but it hardly matters because all she can think is that if Emma were conscious, she wouldn’t feel lifeless.

If she hadn’t said what she’d said, if she hadn’t sent Emma storming out, she wouldn’t  _ be _ lifeless.

She shakes the thought from her mind, focusing solely on resting Emma’s body on the road and recalling every piece of information she’s ever learned about CPR, and as every bit comes back to her, she doubts it. She has to do this right.

She can’t mess up again.

But there’s no time to be careful.

Henry is walking slowly towards them, “Mom! Mom! Is she okay? Is Emma okay? She’s okay, right, Mom?”

It takes all of Regina’s energy to keep her voice level. “Henry, stay back.”

But he doesn’t. Of course he doesn’t, he’s  _ her _ son. The two of them care too much, fight too much, believe too much. Emma’s persistence better come through this time.

Regina takes back every time she ever wished her dead, even back when they hated each other. She takes it all back.

“Ma, she has to be okay. You’ll save her right?” And now he’s next to them moving closer and closer to Emma’s lifeless body, small hands frantically reaching for his birth mother, and Regina has to push him back more forcefully than she would have liked just to get him to back up.

“Henry, no. You need to stay back. You need to give us space…”

“But--”

“Please!” And it’s the voice crack that does it, The voice crack that pushes Henry away. She thinks she sees a tear start to roll down his cheek before he turns and runs in the other direction. She knows he won’t go far.

All her attention goes to Emma -- Emma’s body -- in front of her, and she’s already wasted so much time, so she stops worrying about logistics, stops worrying about time, and worries only about Emma.

She tilts her head back, wishing Emma would be more comfortable when she comes around,  _ if… _ but she doesn’t let that thought finish forming in her mind.  _ When _ .

Her mouth is on Emma’s, breathing air into her lungs. Her hands are on Emma’s chest, pushing down, counting.  _ How many times is it again? _ She makes her best guess, hoping it’s the right one, before placing her mouth over Emma’s once again, a sob escaping at how cold Emma’s lips already are against hers. 

She doesn’t realize she’s crying until she speaks, hoping her voice will help pull Emma back. “Baby, c’mon. Please, Emma you can do this.”

More breathing, more chest compressions, but Emma is as still as ever, “No, no, no, baby, please. You’re so strong. You can do this.”

She vaguely hears a car somewhere behind her, but she doesn’t look. She can’t see anything, but Emma. She won’t see anything, but Emma. “Baby, please, stay with me. I’m not ready to lose you.” Her voice breaks again, and she imagines Emma laughing at her. They had watched a sad movie the other week, one that made Regina sob, and Emma giggled. ( _ You’re so cute, Gina. _ ) And Regina had tried to stop, not to look weak, or  _ cute _ . ( _ But it’s sad! _ ) And her voice cracked so bad that Emma had been rolling with laughter. And when Regina had gotten upset, Emma had pulled her into her arms ( _ Aw! Gina, no... Come here, baby. _ ) and cuddled her until she was smiling, curling willingly into Emma’s warm body.

She wishes she could warm Emma now.

She hopes that Emma can warm her again.

This can’t be it.

She knows it’s happening, but it’s not until she hears the words from Henry’s mouth somewhere behind her that it hits her. “Emma’s dead.” But she won’t accept it, she just won’t. 

“Please, Emma, please. This isn’t it. Not yet. Come back to me, baby.” She can’t stop the tears from streaming down her face as they blend with the rain water and the water from the river, and it doesn’t matter, she thinks, as the water drips to her lips, because all she can taste is Emma, and this can’t be the last time because all she wants is to taste Emma forever, feel her forever, make her feel  _ alive _ , forever.

“Baby, please don’t leave me. I can’t lose you, Emma.” She gives Emma one more breath and halfway through the next round of chest compressions, Regina just falls apart, sobbing so hard she can hardly breathe, and without Emma here with her, she almost wishes she wasn’t.

She throws her body onto Emma’s, careful not to disturb it, just in case, but she wraps herself around the blonde as much as she dares. “Emma, no… I love you.” The words barely leave her lips, sneaking out between strangled breaths and gasps for air.

Emma’s gone.

Gripping her fiancée’s body, Regina rests on her chest and doesn’t even try to stop the tears as they pour.  _ What’s the point? It can’t end like this. This can’t be it _ . ( _ But it is _ .) She sobs harder when the little voice in her head speaks up and she shuts her eyes, blinking the tears out. She almost doesn’t open them again, but when she does, she sees Emma’s hand twitch.

Regina’s back on her knees so fast, gazing at Emma.  _ Maybe this isn’t it _ . ( _ But it is _ .)  _ Maybe it isn’t _ . 

“Baby?” Her hand twitches again. “C’mon, Emma, you can do this. I need you to make it.” Regina breathes into her mouth again, pushes on her chest again, mutters “I love you,” before repeating the action one more time, heart full of hope. 

With one final shove into her chest, Emma is suddenly alive, spitting up water, coughing violently, and Regina lets out a half-sob, half-laugh at the feeling of Emma’s arms grasping at her, the sounds of her being alive. “Emma, I’ve got you. Breathe, baby. I’m here. I’ve got you.” 

She hears a whimper from Emma as soon as the coughs subside, and Regina wraps her arms tighter around her fiancée, who grips her shirt as she cries into it. “Regina…”

“Shh, shh, it’s okay, baby, I’m right here. You’re safe now.” 

Emma nods into her shoulder, trying to catch her breath through her tears. “I love you.”

“I love you,” Regina repeats through a smile, silent tears still making their way down her face. “I’m so, so sorry, Emma. The last thing I wanted to do was let you down.”

Emma pulls back, brows furrowed together. “Gina, you saved my life.”

“I know, baby, but I meant about earlier.” Emma starts to speak but Regina shakes her head. “I need to say this. I am so sorry, I was so stupid. I don’t know why I would think that anything good could come from us being apart, but that was so foolish of me. I said a lot of things I didn’t mean, and the only thing that matters is how much I love you. I can’t imagine my world without you, because you… Emma, you’re it.” She glances over to where Henry stands, watching them next to Mary Margaret and David. “You and Henry… you  _ are _ my world. I don’t want to know what it’s like to not have you by my side.”

“Then let’s not find out,” Emma says before bringing her lips to Regina’s. “Besides,” Emma starts as she holds up Regina’s hand and kissing her hand just above the engagement ring, “You still have to marry me. You promised.” 

“A promise I’m more than happy to oblige,” Regina smiles back, bringing their lips together again. Emma smiles into the kiss, but pulls back, reaching out her hand to summon Henry to them. He runs over, kneeling on the asphalt next to them. 

“You okay, Hen?” Emma asks, wiping a tear from his face as he smiles at her and nods. 

“I’m okay. I was so scared, Ma.” He looks between his moms, finally smiling once they’re doing the same, both his hands in one of theirs. “Hot chocolate?” he asks hopefully.

Emma smiles at her son, then looks to her fiancée. “I think that sounds like a good idea, what do you think?”

“The best idea.” Regina squeezes both their hands before kissing her fiancée one more time. “Let’s go home.”


End file.
